Second-home management in the Western Algarve, without guests

Most people who own a house in Lagos, Luz, Alvor or Carvoeiro and live in another country type the same words: property management. What comes back is a holiday-let company. Listings, check-in, cleaning turnovers, a percentage of the rent.

That is a real business. It is the wrong one if the house is for you.

What you actually need managed

The gap is the weeks the house is empty. A cistern that runs, a pool that drops, a shutter that no longer closes, a bill that sits in the letterbox. None of that is a guest problem.

Second-home management is a person who is responsible for that gap. At Guardemar it means a scheduled inspection, a written report with photographs, keys that are coded rather than labelled with the address, and coordination of the pool company, gardener or cleaner you already have. A quote comes to you before any work starts. We do not approve it for you.

It does not mean bookings, guest messages, an Alojamento Local licence, or paying your IMI. Mail can be photographed if you ask for that separately. Utilities stay in your name.

What to ignore in a proposal

If the first page of a proposal is occupancy and nightly rate, you are in a rental conversation. Close it, unless you have decided to let the house.

If the proposal is only "someone will walk around", ask who meets the plumber, who holds the keys, and what you receive in writing after the visit. An inspection without a person who will act on it is a photograph. Management is the photograph plus the next step, done with your approval.

Where this applies

Guardemar works from Carvoeiro to Sagres, including Ferragudo, Portimão, Alvor, Lagos, Praia da Luz, Burgau, Salema, Vila do Bispo and Sagres. The point of a small territory is that the same person can get to the house.

Plans start with a monthly visit. Fortnightly and weekly visits exist for houses with more systems, or longer absences. The price is a fee for the house, not a cut of income it does not earn.

If you have just completed a purchase, the useful week is the one before you fly home. Keys, meters, a set of photographs and the name of who comes next month. Buying agents can make that introduction without turning the buyer into a landlord. The explanation for them is on the agents page. The explanation for owners is second-home management.